Assigwob



R. E; L. JANNE'Y.

COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9. 1916.

1,325,518. Patented Dec; 23,1919.

:BQBERT E. :L..JJANNEY, OEIGHICAGD, ILLINOIS AS SIGNOR T0 AMERICAN" STEEL A CORPORATION DIE-NEW JERSEY.

coUrLrnc.

ApPlic tion .fil Augus 9 To, a wh m. it m y c e Be it known thatjI, Rosns r E..L. J ANNEY, & .Ci iZen of the 'United 1 States, and resident. of Chicago, in, the coun y ,Qfj Cook and State o l1 noi's,1haveinvented rt i new and useful Improvements in Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

My i vent on. elates to a eeupl e end has pert ular e erenc to a llo k upport cles'gned to prevent the'lock from occupying an i ope ati pe it er- ,In car couplers of the type employing a vertically m'oving blockjlock it is common t empl0ye.' fti1' j'g link, h i b ng 1 able relative to the loclga portion'of the li de lyingaslieu e r b t eel en the coupler 'infthe no rmal inactive position of the parts and therebyacting as an anticreep provision." In a'coupler of a .certain yp lso itis fcundd ei eb su po the look when in its lowermost position on the muc de. t rower. lthasbeen found that in event vthe knuckle thrower becomes broken andthesupportfor the lock thereby .removed, thelock has a tendency'to tilt in its lowermost position and to lie .in such relation to theiwclllsurroundingthe throat of the coupler that the lock cannot be lifted; furtherm re, when the l k ha descended to th 1lowe 'nosi icnPerm ed y t placement of the supportthereforthe lifting link is guite likely to become disengaged from t'l eloc'k.

Ihes m di fi ultieet a g e e or e xten a e presen in'the en re i 0f t same couplerby'meansof the bottom lift or operating device. To overcome the objec- 1 v h ofor re e d o, 11 P e or support located at one of two points within the coupler head, and which supports do not normally contact the lock or have any function, becomingactive only upon the breakage orremoval of the lock-supporting device.

' The invention will be more readily understood by ref'erence to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectidii through acaf couplerconstructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view onthe irregular line 2-2 of Fig. 1, theilmuckle 'thrower being omitted;

Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary horizontal 'specif cation of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Serial No. 113,876.

sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a further adaptation of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 4-d ofFig. l.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that the coupler head 10 provides an inner cavity within which a lock is mounted, the lock comprising a block portion 11, having a fulcrum lug 12 and a depending foot 13. A notch '14: in this foot or leg provides for lock setting engagement with the'knuckle thrower shown in section at 15, in Fig. 1 only. The extreme lower end of the leg 13 is provided with aninclined slot 16,.which is engaged by the bottoin throwing or lifting arrangement. The upper portion of the lock is provided with an inclined, undercut groove 17, with which trunnions 18 on the top lifter or link 19 engage, said lift-er projecting downwardly through an opening in the top wall of the coupler. The lifter at its lower end is provided with a notch 20, which engages with a shoulder or, abutment 21 on the back wall of the coupler. The lower or inclined portion of the notch acts as, an anti-creep provision, preventing the upward movement of the lock untilthe lifter is moved out from under the projection or ledgeQl, as occurs during the first lifting action of the link. The vertical portion of the notch which'lies againstv the back wall serves to prevent the disengagement of the lifter from the look, as would be permitted if the lock were al-' lowed to drop a distance suflicient to permit the lower end ofthetlifter to pass beneath the ledge 21. The lifter may be disconnected fromthe look by a downward and rearward relative movement with respect thereto.

As best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that the fulcrum lug 12 and that part of the front of the locking block 11 from which the fulcrum lug projects is ofless width than the entire locking block, thereby providing an upright shoulder 26 whichbears against a part 27 of the internal front wall of the coupler head when the looking block is on the knuckle thrower 15, shownin Fig. 1, thereby to prevent the lock from tilting forwardly into an inoperative position- As indicatedby a dotted line in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the upright shoulder 26 on the locking block extends the full height or depth of the latter so as to insure a proper engagement of the shoulder with the front wall of the coupler head in all normal positions of the locking block.

To obviate the difiiculties such as would follow the dropping of the lock due to a breakage of the knuckle thrower 15, I provide a ledge or lug 22, located on the guard arm side of the coupler and preferably at a point just beneath the normal lowered position of the lock. In the absence of the lugs 22 and in event of the breakage of the knuckle thrower, the lock drops until the portion thereof which is shown as resting on the knuckle thrower rests upon the floor 23 of the coupler, in which position the forward upper end of the lock would underlie the wall surrounding the throat opening of the coupler and would become jammed therein as soon as the lock was sought to be lifted.

It will, of course, be understood that when the locking block 11 is supported on the ledge or lug 22, the shoulder 26 at the front of the locking block 11 remains in engagement with the part 27 of the front of the coupler head so as to prevent the locking block from tilting forwardly and becoming jammed in the throat opening of the coupler head.

In the construction shown in Figs. l and 5 much the same result is obtained as far as the elimination of the possibility of jamming is concerned. In that case the lock may be allowed to drop, due to breakage of the knuckle thrower, until it rests upon the floor of the coupler. I have, however, pro vided a lug 24, which projects upwardly into the throat opening from the guard arm side of the head and serves to maintain the lock in the tilted position shown, which prevents the lock from assuming such position as will cause it to jam in the manner described. In the locked position of the looking block, in the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the shoulder 26 on the block of course engages the part 27 of the coupler head, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, so as to prevent the locking block from tilting forwardly into an inoperative position. Of course, when the support, afforded by the knuckle thrower, is removed from beneath the locking block, the latter drops to the position shown in Fig. at of the drawings, and of course the shoulder 26 of the locking block becomes disengaged from the part 27 of the front wall of the coupler head, and if it were not for the lug 24, the locking block would tilt forwardly into the opening in the throat of the coupler head and would become jammed therein by any attempt to lift the locking block by means of the lifter.

j It will be understood, of course that the actions which have been referred to relate to such actions as occur or are possible in the closed position of the knuckle. Of course, the only manner in which the parts may be assembled is by reason of their assuming, during the absence of the knuckle, the positions which, in the presence of the knuckle, are described as impossible as the result of my improvements.

In a coupler head provided with either embodiment of the invention, the locking block is insertible and removable through the throat opening in the coupler head and through which the knuckle tail enters.

To enable the ready insertion and removal of the lock in the absence of the knuckle, I cut away a portion of the width of the foot of the lock, thereby leaving a space which I have lettered 25 in Figs. 2 and 5. This permits the lock to be tilted an amount sufficient to free it from either of the lugs 22 or 24:.

Obviously, therefore, the invention contemplates means which are normally inactive, but which become active upon the breakage or removal of any parts, to prevent the lock from occupying such position as will cause it to become inoperative and modifications of the invention which include features such as described are considered within the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a coupler, the combination of a lock of the vertically moving type, a movable support for the lock when in its normal po sition, and means for preventing forward tilting of the lock including a lug carried by and projecting laterally from the guard arm side of the head, said lug being located in such position as to partially support said look upon failure of the said movable support, whereby said lock is prevented from assuming such a position asewill permit of its becoming jammed.

2. In a coupler, the combination of a head having a throat opening, a vertically moving block lock, a movable support for said look when in its normal position, in which position the lock extends above said throat opening and the arrangement being such that in the absence of said movable support said lock may drop and tilt forwardly to assume a position in which the upper forward corner thereof lies in said throat, and means in the form of a lug carried by and projecting from the guard arm side of the head preventing said look from assuming such position. substantially as described.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 5th day of August, A. D. 1916.

noenirr L. JANNEY.

Witnesses:

G. F. MURRAY, MILTON T. MILLER. 

